Dive Brief:

• Malibu, the brand of coconut-flavored rum marketed by Pernod Ricard, launched its “101 Days of Because Summer” campaign that features social influencers on mobile and digital channels. Malibu is enlisting 19 social media stars to encourage fans to participate in the campaign by sharing their special summer experiences surrounding the drink, according to a press release by the company.
• Malibu is sponsoring Snapchat lenses and geofilters that correspond with special events, including National Piña Colada Day on July 10, a solar eclipse on August 11 and music festivals such as Tortuga, Stagecoach, Neon Desert, Hangout and Route 91. Snapchat users over the age of 21 can unlock the sponsored content by getting a Snapcode at participating bars and at pop-up Malibu Rum Beach Houses across the country.
• The rum brand will publish additional information about the promotion on its Twitter account, @MalibuRumUS, while encouraging people to tag social media posts with #BecauseSummer.

Dive Insight:

Malibu’s summer promotion is a sign that alcohol brands are beginning to overcome fears of marketing on popular apps and channels whose audience is comprised of a large group of people under 21. The beer and liquor industries have enacted regulations against placing ads on any media channel whose audience is less than 71.6% of people legally allowed to drink. Several years ago, Facebook agreed to advertise drinks company Diageo, which was quite profitable. However, many consumers were concerned that because the social networking site's audience includes underage people, the ads would only fuel underage drinking by exposing young people to alcohol marketing online. 

Snapchat, which doesn’t disclose its specific audience breakdown, is starting to attract an older demographic. The number of 18- to 24-year-old Snapchat users fell to about 29% in December 2016 from 47% a year earlier, according to Marketing Charts. Meanwhile, the share of Snapchat users over 45 grew from 11% to 26%, even as its entire audience grew.

Pernod Ricard is tapping into this growing group of older Snapchat users and ensuring its ads and special features reach only those above 21 by limiting access to its branded lenses and geofilters. Users are required to retrieve a Snapcode at bars and other venues that have the ability to refuse service to underage consumers. Alcohol advertisers also say they only serve ads to people who register on Snapchat as 21 and older — although no one is checking IDs during app downloads or on smartphones in general yet. The alcohol business has had to rely on imperfect age-gating tools throughout its history, and Snapchat meets the industry’s regulations on registrations, according to AdAge.